Casino card game

ABSTRACT

A card game that is designed primarily for casinos and for casino patrons to wager upon. The game is based on providing a gaming table upon which a number of positions can be marked by indicia and playing cards bearing the same indicia, the game being played by dealing a predetermined number of cards from specifically designed card packs which decide the result and provide wins for the position bearing the indicia of the cards. Players have the option of wagering solely on the indicia aligned with their playing position or the option of wagering on any of a predetermined number of wagering options that are made available as communal wagering areas. There are no dealer or players hands as such, but rather a single table hand. Winnings results are determined by the indicia of the cards that are dealt to the table by the dealer. Players of this game will have the opportunity to receive multiple chances of winning for a single wager and at the same time be eligible for certain bonus payoffs. Players also have the opportunity to participate in a progressive jackpot feature that is independent of the main game. Hands are dealt, either using a live dealer, or an electronic dealer or using a computer generated game without a dealer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a game of chance of the kind played in gaming venues such as casinos and the like. More particularly, implementations of the invention relate to a game which may be played with a card deck, which may be simulated in the case of a computer software implementation, and in which one or more participating players can place wagers against combinations of cards from the card deck being draw in a single drawn hand which is common to the participating players.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For many members of the general public a visit to a casino is an accepted pastime and on most occasions can be an exciting adventure into a world of fun, fantasy and excitement. However, infrequent players can sometimes be overwhelmed by the complexities of many casino games. This can be particularly evident in relation to casino card games, which oftentimes require the player to make a decision based on the dealt cards before a final game result is achieved.

In order to encourage player participation from those players that may be intimidated by playing complex, decision-making card games, the present invention aims to enable implementations of a card game suitable for casino wagering and which is relatively simple in structure, easily understood and requiring little or no skill of the participating players.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided method for conducting a wagering card game, including:

-   -   providing a card deck having a plurality of each of a first         number of card types;     -   providing player wagering facilities permitting a player to         place a wager corresponding to each of the first number of card         types;     -   dealing a hand of cards selected randomly from the card deck,         the dealt hand comprising a second number of cards such that         said second number is determined in accordance with said first         number of card types; and     -   settling wagers placed by a player utilising said player         wagering facilities in accordance with a correspondence between         the player wagers and the card type of at least one of the dealt         hand cards.

The present invention also provides casino card game, comprising:

-   -   a card deck having a plurality of each of a first number of card         types;     -   player wagering facilities permitting a player to place a wager         corresponding to each of the first number of card types;     -   a hand of cards dealt randomly from the card deck, the dealt         hand comprising a second number of cards such that said second         number is determined in accordance with said first number of         card types;     -   wherein a winning wager placed by a player utilising said player         wagering facilities is determined in accordance with a         correspondence between the player wager and the card type of at         least one of the dealt hand cards.

The preferred implementation of a card game and game playing method of the present invention affords each wager placed by a player a plurality of winning opportunities, with each winning opportunity at different settlement or pay-out odds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying ,drawings. With specific reference to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to shown structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be implemented or embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a gaming table layout suitable for implementation of a card game according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a gaming table layout suitable for implementation of a card game according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION EMBODIMENTS(S)

The principles and operation of a method and system for casino card game play according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and accompanying description.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or implementations or of being practiced or carried out in various ways which may not be specifically enumerated herein but can be readily ascertained from the explanation that is provided. Also, it is to be understood that the specific nomenclature, phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purposes of description and to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments, and should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a “casino game version” of the card game according to an embodiment of the present invention is described hereinbelow. The term “casino game version” is utilised herein to encompass a game in which the house acts as the banker, collecting all losing wagers and paying all winning wagers. The house employs the dealer and each player places wagers against the house.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a gaming table layout 20, which would typically in practice be arranged on top of a casino card game table structure, such as of the type often employed for playing blackjack and the like. The table layout 20 includes a dealer position 40 and a plurality of player positions 22, of which six are shown in FIG. 1. The number of player positions 22 can be varied as desired, according to the size of the gaming table or the number of players the casino wishes to accommodate at each table, for example. A casino layout might typically be arranged to accommodate between five and eight players per table.

The dealer location 40 is provided opposite the player positions 22 and is preferably adjacent to a betting-chip rack 42. The chip rack 42 is of a conventional design common to the industry and used to hold casino betting-chips. The dealer uses the chip rack 42 to store the gaming tokens that belong to the house. When a player loses his wager to the house, the gaming tokens won by the house are stored in the chip rack 42. On the other hand, when a player wins his wager from the house, the player is paid from the gaming tokens stored in the chip rack 42.

In the layout 20, between the dealer position 40 and the player positions 22, a plurality of table card locations 44 are provided. Four table card locations 44 are illustrated in FIG. 1, for game play according to a preferred embodiment of the invention as described below. Additionally, between the table card locations 44 and the player positions 22, a plurality of wagering locations 24 and a jackpot wagering band 26 are provided. The eight wagering locations 24 shown in FIG. 1 are respectively labeled “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”, “F”, “G” and “H”, which correspond to indicia on the cards used for game play.

The game cards used for this embodiment each have indicia corresponding to one of the wagering locations 24, 26. For example, a card deck suitable for game play with the layout 20 may comprise four sub-sets (e.g. “suits”) of eight cards each corresponding to a respective one of the eight indicia “A” to “H”, together with one House or Jackpot card. This forms a thirty-three card deck having four of each of the eight primary card types (“A” to “H”) and one House or Jackpot card.

Game play using such a card deck basically involves players wagering against the house, according to predetermined pay-out ratios, as to whether a card with a particular indicia or a combination of such cards, will be drawn from the deck in a single four card hand.

Before the dealer draws cards from the card deck, players are afforded the opportunity to place a wager by positioning a casino chip on one of the wagering locations 24, 26. For example, by placing a chip on the wagering location 24 labeled “A”, the player is wagering that a card labeled “A” will be one of the four cards drawn from the deck by the dealer when the game commences. Placing a betting chip on the jackpot wagering band 26 corresponds to a wager by the player that the House or Jackpot card will be drawn in the next hand.

Once the dealer is satisfied that all wagers are placed, four cards are drawn by the dealer, one card at a time, from a randomly arranged card deck. The cards drawn are dealt face up onto the table card locations 44. There is preferably a predetermined relationship between the number of cards drawn in a single hand and the number of different card indicia included in the game card deck. In this embodiment, the number of cards dealt in a single hand is equal to one half of the number of different card indicia in the deck, excluding the House or Jackpot card(s). Thus, in this case, four cards are drawn in one hand since there are eight different card types in the deck (ignoring the House or Jackpot card(s) for the time being so as not to cloud understanding of the game principles). The four cards drawn from the deck and placed in the table card locations 44 are referred to as the “table cards”, as they are neither player or dealer cards.

After the hand of table cards has been dealt, the winning and losing wagers can be determined according to the placement of betting chips on the table and the indicia shown on the table cards. Basically, if a particular card type is dealt as one of the four table cards, wagering chips placed in the corresponding wagering location 24 will win. For example, if each of the dealt cards are of different type, bets on the four card indicia types dealt all win, and bets on the other four card types lose. If a particular card type occurs more than once in the hand, fewer than four of the wagering locations 24 will represent winning bets, but additional pay-out odds may be returned to the winning players with wagers on the multiply dealt card type. If all four dealt cards are of the same type then only bets on one of the wagering locations 24 will win, although at higher winning returns than if only one of that card type were dealt.

It will be readily apparent that, in this example where the dealer will deal four cards to the table, known as table cards or collectively as the “hand”, each participating player is provided with four chances to win on the basis of one wager. For example if a player has wagered upon one of the eight card types by placing a chip in the corresponding wagering location 24, the player has a chance of winning each time a table card is dealt. Thus, if the player doesn't win on the first table card dealt by the dealer, they still have an opportunity to win on the remaining three (3) table cards to be dealt for that hand. Accordingly, this provides a casino card game where players have multiple chances to win for a single wager.

FIG. 2 illustrates a gaming table layout 50 adapted for a modified version of the wagering system described above. In the table layout 50, each player position 52 arranged around the table corresponds to one of the card types (“A” to “H”) in the deck. According to this system, a player at a particular player location 52 is only permitted to wager on the card type corresponding to their location at the table.

In order that the house (e.g. casino operator) has an advantage it is necessary that, on average at least, the return on wagers be effectively paid at slightly less odds that what would be considered even money. This is generally achieved in one of two ways. The first is to take a commission, say 5%, from all winning wagers, and the second is to modify the odds to slightly favor the house.

Such considerations have resulted in the inclusion of one or more unique House or Jackpot cards into the specifically designed card deck for use in the preferred embodiment of the invention, as introduced above. For the purposes of this description, the aforementioned House or Jackpot cards in this particular example are referred to as a VIVA™ card.

In one form of the game, the VIVA card could simply be used as a non-scoring card. That is to say, for a game of eight wagering positions where three ordinary cards and a VIVA card is dealt, then only wagering results from the three ordinary cards would be paid, in the usual manner. In this case, there is no fourth card to pay on and no possible four of a kind, which allows the house to obtain a suitable edge in pay-out probabilities.

In a second form of the game, where the game card deck includes a VIVA card which is dealt during a hand, all wagers in that particular hand are lost by the players. The house edge would be adjustable according to the ratio of ordinary cards to VIVA cards, which in this example would be approximately one in every seven hands.

In another possible form of the game, if any cards in a hand are dealt prior to the VIVA card being dealt, then the winning wagers are paid but no further cards are dealt. Effectively, if the VIVA card is the second card, then bets corresponding to the type of the first card dealt only are paid; if VIVA is the third card, then bets in relation to the first two ordinary cards are paid, and so on.

It is also possible to provide players with an additional wagering option, by allowing them to wager on the VIVA card. So as to provide the game with a house edge that is acceptable to both players and house alike, it is necessary to provide a relatively low probability of the VIVA card being dealt. However, this need for the low probability of a VIVA card being dealt makes the wagering option on the VIVA card ideal for a VIVA Jackpot or Bonus Wager. Since the VIVA card is also a house card, the VIVA Jackpot or Bonus Wager option can also constitute a type of insurance for players wagering on the indicia in the ordinary card wagering locations 24.

Following is an example of the probabilities, expected player and house % returns as well as probabilities and returns for a game including the VIVA Jackpot feature. In this embodiment of the invention the Rules of Play are as follows. The game is played with a special VIVA deck that consists of 4 decks of cards numbered 1 to 8 in each of the four suits, plus 5 Viva cards, for a total of 4*8*4+5=133 cards. There are three types of wagers that the player can make. Once all the players have placed one or more wagers on any of the available wagers, the dealer will deal four cards face up in their position on the table. These four cards are the Table Cards and determine winning and losing bets. The three wagering options are as follows:

1. Indicia/Number Wager.

A player can bet on numbers 1 (Ace) to 8 on the layout in front of them. The winning numbers are determined by the four cards dealt face up and placed in the table card locations 44 by the dealer.

The payoff odds for the Indicia/Number Wager are as follows: Type Pays 1 Number 1 to 1 1 Pair (2 numbers) 2 to 1 3 of a Kind (3 numbers) 12 to 1  4 of a Kind (4 numbers) 50 to 1 

Each player can wager on one or more of any of the eight card numbers. It is important to appreciate that the VIVA cards are not considered “indicia/number” cards and therefore do not qualify for the above payoffs.

2. VIVA Wager.

The player may also bet that at least one VIVA card will be dealt. The payoff odds are as follows: Type Pays 1 VIVA card 4 to 1 2 VIVA cards 25 to 1  3 VIVA cards 100 to 1  4 VIVA cards 500 to 1  3. VIVA Jackpot/Bonus Wager.

In addition to the above bets, the player may also make a $1 Progressive bet. If the four cards dealt by the dealer match any of the following winning combinations, the player will be paid in accordance with the pay-out schedule below: Hand Type Pays 4 VIVA cards 100% of the meter Suited 4 of a kind $1000 3 VIVA cards $200 7777 or 8888 $100 4 of a Kind, A's ˜ 6s $40 Suited 3 of a kind $20 3 of a kind $10

The progressive meter could start at $10,000 and be reset to $10,000 whenever the 100% jackpot has been hit. Gaming regulations and or game operators would determine the percentage increase that the jackpot meter is incremented by.

Mathematical Analysis

There are P_(133,4)=298,978,680 ways to deal any four cards from a 133-card deck.

The probability that exactly one card will match the player's chosen number is

-   -   16*117*116*115*4/298978680=33.410382%.

The probability that exactly two cards will match the player's chosen number is

-   -   16*15*117*116*6/298978680=6.536814%.

The probability that exactly three cards will match the player's chosen number is

-   -   16*15*14*117*4/298978680=0.525951%.

The probability that exactly three cards will match the player's chosen number is

-   -   16*15*14*13/298978680=0.014610%.

The probability that exactly one VIVA card will be dealt is

-   -   5*128*127*126*4/298978680=13.701686%.

The probability that exactly two VIVA cards will be dealt is

-   -   5*4*128*127*6/298978680=0.652461%.

The probability that exactly three VIVA cards will be dealt is

-   -   5*4*3*128*4/298978680=0.010275%.

The probability that exactly four VIVA cards will be dealt is

-   -   5*4*3*2/298978680=0.000040%.

The probability that any suited 4 of a kind will be dealt is

-   -   8*4*4*3*2*1/298978680=0.000257%.

The probability that four 8s or four 7s will be dealt is

-   -   (16*15*14*13−4*4*3*2*1)*2/298978680=0.029155%.

The probability that any 4 of a kind, Aces through 6s, will be dealt is

-   -   (16*15*14*13−4*4*3*2*1)*6/298978680=0.087466%.

The probability that any suited 3 of a kind will be dealt is

-   -   8*4*4*3*2*117*4/298978680=0.120217%.

The probability that any 3 of a kind will be dealt is

-   -   8*16*15*14*117*4/298978680−0.120217%=4.087387%.

House Advantage

1. Indicia/Number Wager Type % Probability Pays % Return One Card 33.410382 1 33.4104 One Pair 6.536814 2 13.0736 3 of a Kind 0.525951 12 6.3114 4 of a Kind 0.014610 50 0.7305 Total 40.487757 53.5259

The house advantage is 100%−40.4878%−53.5259%=5.9863%.

2. VIVA Wager Type % Probability Pays % Return 1 Viva 13.701686 4 54.8067 2 VIVA's 0.652461 25 16.3115 3 VIVA's 0.010275 100 1.0275 4 VIVA's 0.000040 500 0.0201 Total 14.364462 72.1658

The house advantage is 100%−14.3645%−72.1658%=13.4697%.

3. VIVA Jackpot/Bonus Wager Type % Probability Pays % Return 4 VIVA's 0.000040 10000 0.4014 Suited 4 of a kind 0.000257 1000 0.2569 3 VIVA's 0.010275 200 2.0550 7777 or 8888 0.029155 100 2.9155 4 of a Kind, As ˜ 6s 0.087466 40 3.4986 Suited 3 of a kind 0.120217 20 2.4043 3 of a kind 4.087387 10 40.8739 Total 4.334797 52.4056

If the meter is incremented by $0.25 for every $1 wagered on the Progressive jackpot wager, the house advantage is 1−0.524056−25=22.5944%.

The four VIVA's jackpot will occur once every 2.5 million hands. The average size of the meter when hit will be 2500000*$0.25+$10000=$635,000.

It is important to appreciate that the practice known as card counting has not been taken into consideration with these probabilities and we would recommend that either the deck must be shuffled after each hand or a continuous shuffling machine that randomly places cards from the previous hand back into the shoe should be used. That way, card counting is not considered to be a threat and is not addressed in this analysis.

In other types of jackpot card games, players must first place a wager in what is probably best described as the main game and only then are they eligible to place a jackpot wager. This is not the case with this invention, unlike other types of Jackpot card games, players of the progressive jackpot wagering option of this invention, are able to make a jackpot wager without having to make a wager in any other part of the game, such as the numbers wager.

When considering the previous game example, there were three wagering options disclosed, (i) Indicia/Number Wager, (ii) VIVA Wager and (iii) VIVA Jackpot/Bonus Wager, then in this example of the invention players may wager upon any one (1) or more of the three (3) wagering options, at any time during the wagering process.

Also in other types of Jackpot card games, the main Jackpot can only be won by one player, unlike these games, embodiments of this invention provide for the main jackpot to be equally divided among all players who made the progressive jackpot wager; while the winning bonus hands from the suited 4 of a kind on down could be paid individually to each player that has made the progressive jackpot wager and could be paid directly from the dealer's chip rack 42.

It is possible to make modifications in the game. For example, if the pair or triple cards were of the same suit, then a slightly greater payment could be made, it could also be possible to provide alternative wagering options, such as, low or high, low being a total of three cards from three (3) to ten (10) and the high being three cards from eleven (11) to eighteen (18) and so on. Variations can be made in these bets offered which could again be subject of a commission or could be lost when the VIVA card is received.

Although, a six place table with the specifically designed card pack ranging from one (1) to eight (8) has been described herein, it is to be understood that these numbers are not critical. Additional playing positions could be provided, and particularly when playing the communal betting area game format and in that case we could simply use the number of cards equivalent to the number of communal betting area 24 positions on the table.

Also we prefer to use an even number of associated communal wagering areas 24 and the amount of indicia included in the specifically designed card packs will always directly reflect the number of communal wagering areas 24 and the number of table cards to be dealt out, is equal to half the number of communal betting areas 24. For example:

-   -   when there are six (6) communal betting areas 24, then the         specific card pack will contain cards numbered one (Ace) to         six (6) and probably one House or Jackpot card and in this         particular version of the game 3 table cards are dealt;     -   when there are eight (8) communal betting areas 24, then the         specific card pack will contain cards numbered one (Ace) to         eight (8) and probably one House or Jackpot card and in this         particular version of the game 4 table cards are dealt;     -   when there are ten (10) communal betting areas 24, then the         specific card pack will contain cards numbered one (Ace) to         ten (10) and probably one House or Jackpot card and in this         particular version of the game 5 table cards are dealt, and so         on.

Also, whilst we have suggested using multiples of four decks of the specifically designed card packs, six or eight decks of the specifically designed card packs could be used as equally well.

Whilst we have used numbers as our exemplary indicia for distinguishing the different card types, the variety of different indicia which may be employed is unlimited, and may be of the form of states, famous sports people, famous world icons, and so on. Furthermore, whilst the game play has been described herein in the context of a casino game in which a casino employee, for example, performs the functions of shuffling and dealing cards, and accepting and settling wagers, the game can alternatively be implemented with some or all of such features performed under control of appropriately structured computer software or the like.

Although the salient features, functions and arrangements of the an implementation of the present invention have been presented hereinabove, the description is not exhaustive, and those of ordinary skill in the art will recognise that many modifications and additions can be made to what has been described without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broadest scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent and patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. Further, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that any disclosure therein constitutes, or would be considered by an ordinarily skilled artisan in the field of the invention to constitute, common and/or general knowledge in the field.

Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

The foregoing detailed description of an implementation of the invention has been presented by way of example only, and is not intended to be considered limiting to the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto. 

1. A method for conducting a wagering card game, including: providing a card deck having a plurality of each of a first number of card types; providing player wagering facilities permitting a player to place a wager corresponding to each of the first number of card types; dealing a hand of cards selected randomly from the card deck, the dealt hand comprising a second number of cards such that said second number is determined in accordance with said first number of card types; and settling wagers placed by a player utilising said player wagering facilities in accordance with a correspondence between the player wagers and the card type of at least one of the dealt hand cards.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each player is restricted to placing wagers corresponding to a respective one of the first number of card types.
 3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein each player is assigned a table position which determines which of the first number of card types that player may wager on.
 4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each player is permitted to wager on any one or more of the first number of card types.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a single hand of cards is dealt for a plurality of players.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second number of cards dealt in said hand is equal to half of said first number of card types in the card deck.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein player wagers are settled according to predetermined odds corresponding to the combination of card types occurring in the dealt hand.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a player wager corresponding to any one of the card types occurring in the dealt hand is a winning wager.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a player wager corresponding to a card type occurring more than once in the dealt hand is a winning wager, and wherein the settlement amount for such a winning wager is determined in accordance with the number of occurrences of that card type in the dealt hand.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the card deck includes at least one house card in addition to said plurality of first number of card types.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the player wagering facilities permits placement of a jackpot wager corresponding to occurrence of said at least one house card in the dealt hand.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein a player is permitted to place a jackpot wager regardless of whether that player has also placed a wager corresponding to one of the first number of card types.
 13. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the settlement amount in respect of a jackpot wager is determined at least partially with reference to a jackpot pool amount.
 14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the jackpot pool amount is determined according to a jackpot base amount plus a jackpot meter amount which increases according to an interval since a previous jackpot occurrence.
 15. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each player wager has a plurality of winning opportunities.
 16. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each player wager has a plurality of winning opportunities at a plurality of different odds.
 17. A casino card game, comprising: a card deck having a plurality of each of a first number of card types; player wagering facilities permitting a player to place a wager corresponding to each of the first number of card types; a hand of cards dealt randomly from the card deck, the dealt hand comprising a second number of cards such that said second number is determined in accordance with said first number of card types; wherein a winning wager placed by a player utilising said player wagering facilities is determined in accordance with a correspondence between the player wager and the card type of at least one of the dealt hand cards.
 18. A casino card game as claimed in claim 17, wherein each player wager has a plurality of winning opportunities.
 19. A casino card game as claimed in claim 17, wherein each player wager has a plurality of winning opportunities each at different odds. 